Our league record since the end of February

[Fox92]

1 hour ago, iancognito said:

No we have got a good squad, definitely our best in terms of depth and quality but my point is that doesn't mean it will automatically beat other teams or that its better than other teams. And yes I'm sick of the line about not enough intensity from the off or not having the right tempo. If it keeps happening then start putting a firework or two up the rrses of the players guilty of it. There's no room for favourites or carrying players in a squad like this. If Maddison isn't performing, get KDH in there and bench the guy. Soyuncu giving it away again? Put Castagne in the back 3 and drop him. The "best squad" only works if we've got genuine competition for places.

I never said, and don't think, we automatically should be beating other teams. For me the issue is the same thing keeps happening and it should rightly be critcised. But then critcising brings people to talk about expectation and I'm sorry but it's nothing to do with expectations. It's simple mistakes we keep making/seeing.

[majaco]

6 hours ago, Les-TA-Jon said:

Probably our greatest ever keeper

Banks.  Shilton.

 

 

 

Logan

[The whole world smiles]

6 hours ago, Kinowe Soorie said:

How many of Rodgers signings have improved the squad?

Long answer: Fofana, Justin, castagne, daka and arguably lookman and soumare.

 

Short answer: most of them. 

[volpeazzurro]

3 hours ago, when_you're_smiling said:

Well yes, but you’ve also not mentioned that many clubs, including those you name, still have much bigger finances and therefore should have bigger and better squads. Arsenal brought a £75m player off the bench yesterday.

And he's proved to be well worth the 75m hasn't he! Vardy cost a massive 1m and we fielded him. It's not about the money spent, it's about what you get for it.

 

Ben White 50m, Fofana 30m. Which one are you choosing?

 

[Aus Fox]

When people talk about our defensive record over the last 33 games, do you take into consideration how many of those games we’ve had our first choice back 4 playing?

How many games has Evans missed? Fofana? Ricardo? Justin? Castagne? Ndidi?

 

It’s bot that we’re the only club to get injuries, but you have to look at all of those injuries in one area have had an impact. I am sure these injuries have also impacted Soyuncu’s form. Everyone knows the importance of building up a partnership at the back and looking to build relationships, knowing where a player will be and what they are doing. 
Soyuncu at left cb has had 4 very different players next to him at LB and a variety of different players next to him at CB.

Look at Liverpool when they lost VVD, there form Plummeted and went from easily the best side in the league to an average top 6 side.

 

Despite  these injuries and the form of key players Madders and Barnes, we’ve still finished 5th and won the FA Cup and are only 3 points from 5th again.

This season the league looks more even than it has done in a long time, there is very little between ourselves, Man Utd, Arsenal, Spurs, West Ham, Everton, Villa, Palace and Brighton.

I still think if we can get a run with a settled back 4 we are in a great position to challenge the top six and bring home some silverware. 
Improvement and success isn’t always a linear process, there will always be periods of set backs and plateau, the secret is too enjoy the good times !

[Dusty]

Agree we’ve been very inconsistent over the last 8 months, and not up to standard. But I truly believe that if Evans and fofana had stayed fit at the end of last season we would have made top 4. Then carry over into this season and we’ve had just as many defensive injuries as well as our first choice cdm out injured. The whole team has really struggled with this, not just defensive organisation but also playing out from the back has been really hampered. With a fully fit side we comfortably make top 6 imo.

[when_you're_smiling]

2 minutes ago, volpeazzurro said:

And he's proved to be well worth the 75m hasn't he! Vardy cost a massive 1m and we fielded him. It's not about the money spent, it's about what you get for it.

 

Ben White 50m, Fofana 30m. Which one are you choosing?

 

It is. But my point is they’ve got way more wriggle room to get it wrong.

 

I’m sure the moment things go wrong again they’ll spunk £50m on more crap that’ll sit on the bench. Our finances mean we can’t afford to do that at the minute long term like the ‘big six’ can and yet we’re still going toe-to-toe with teams with these teams with bigger budgets.

[volpeazzurro]

27 minutes ago, when_you're_smiling said:

It is. But my point is they’ve got way more wriggle room to get it wrong.

 

I’m sure the moment things go wrong again they’ll spunk £50m on more crap that’ll sit on the bench. Our finances mean we can’t afford to do that at the minute long term like the ‘big six’ can and yet we’re still going toe-to-toe with teams with these teams with bigger budgets.

I think you're right in terms of Manchester City/United and Chelsea. Liverpool aren't exactly outlandish in comparison and do recruit well but are still admittedly ahead of us that way.

 

Compared to Arsenal and Spurs though I think we are much more astute and neither, for all the money they have spent, currently have a squad comparable to ours (just imo) and will have to spend considerably more to even catch up. Meanwhile, we have a number of very saleable assets should we wish to do so, whereas both of them are laden with the sort of expensive players, which for age or ability reasons, they are lumbered with that no-one would want to buy. Arguably we only have Perez and Vestergaard in that category and the latter was only a 15m investment. 

[Ric Flair]

3 hours ago, Chocolate Teapot said:

This is a very Pochettino / Spurs mentality. He might have a blip this season but honestly we'll struggle to get anywhere near as good. We've had more bad spells than good spells under him. More than confident he'll sort this.

I'm not saying we can or will get better than him but my point is, if his effectiveness is wearing off with this squad of players then we have to overhaul, do we not? 

[ousefox]

It's very strange. We haven't been good since February. That's a hell of a long time without one consistently good spell. 

 

We concede a set piece every other game which is simply inexcusable. It doesn't matter if we have players injured, this can be coached. I remember in his first full season we didn't concede a set piece for the whole first half of the season!

 

We don't play exciting or good football anymore either. The amount of games we haven't turned up in recently is crazy. This side got smashed by a Steve Bruce Newcastle team.

 

Rodgers has been brilliant for us. 2 5th place finishes and an FA cup win is absolutely incredible. I just feel like he's never going to be good enough to be a top class manager because of a few small issues he has. 

 

Next year is going to be very interesting. We have an inexplicable number of players out of contract. Christ knows that the board are doing there. I might be wrong but the next couple of years don't fill me with positivity.

[NaijaFox]

8 hours ago, Angus Scott said:

We lost at home to Arsenal (sound familiar?) on February 28th. Since then, including that game, we have played 23 league games. Our record is:-

Won 9, Drew 4, Lost 10, Points 31. 6 of those defeats have been at home.

 

That is bottom half of the table form & indicates, because of the time span, that this is more than just a temporary blip. I know that we have had injuries but so does every club.

A little bit worrying I would suggest, especially as we are told that we consistently want to be challenging for top 4 & Europe not looking over our shoulders at the bottom 3

Why start from such a random point as February 28th?

If you’re going to start from random points, why not from October 16th, when we would be Top 6?

Can see if you are projecting back over a 38-game (PL games) period, which approximates a full season.

 

Anyway, there’s an African saying (isn’t there always one? ) that miles ran are counted only after the race is completed.

 

Edited 31 October 2021 by NaijaFox

[Guest Chocolate Teapot]

17 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

I'm not saying we can or will get better than him but my point is, if his effectiveness is wearing off with this squad of players then we have to overhaul, do we not? 

Squad wise yeah we do. Soyuncu is struggling and we've not improved the first team. That said I think our first team when they're all fit is pretty damn good. We're in a better position after 10 games than I thought we would be. Big test in the next two games before the international break, big wilf back at a crucial time. I think we'll be OK.

[Ric Flair]

15 minutes ago, NaijaFox said:

Why start from such a random point as February 28th?

If you’re going to start from random points, why not from October 16th, when we would be Top 6?

Can see if you are projecting back over a 38-game (PL games) period, which approximates a full season.

 

There’s an African saying (isn’t there always one? ), that miles ran are counted only after the race is completed.

 

He's measuring a slump, I don't see the issue with it.

[NaijaFox]

2 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

He's measuring a slump, I don't see the issue with it.

Wouldn't be a slump if he measured from October 16...

There will always be oscillations in form, and to pick a random period skewers reality.

[Les-TA-Jon]

2 hours ago, majaco said:

Banks.  Shilton.

 

 

 

Logan

Banks and Shilton were not better Leicester keepers than Kasper, though. That’s my point. 
 

I’m making the distinction between ‘best keeper to play for Leicester’ and ‘Leicester’s best keeper’ 

[deep blue]

8 hours ago, Vacamion said:

 

...

 

Always the same, we lose, and we get threads like this.  

But the poster is clearly talking about our record from end of Feb, a long enough period to make reasonable assessments.)

[Guest TaggertvsWise]

I’ve had a glass of wine, read the opening statement, checked the poster’s profile and can safely say that this thread is bollocks.
 

We are a safe top 10 club with the best squad, first 11 and manager we have ever had. We have the best owners and training facilities in all of Europe and a fantastic proposal for a ground redevelopment.

 

Get a grip for God’s sake and be a supporter not a critic. 
 

Right, another bottle is calling as is another 49 years as a fan if I live that long. 

[filbertway]

3 minutes ago, TaggertvsWise said:

I’ve had a glass of wine, read the opening statement, checked the poster’s profile and can safely say that this thread is bollocks.
 

We are a safe top 10 club with the best squad, first 11 and manager we have ever had. We have the best owners and training facilities in all of Europe and a fantastic proposal for a ground redevelopment.

 

Get a grip for God’s sake and be a supporter not a critic. 
 

Right, another bottle is calling as is another 49 years as a fan if I live that long. 

 

The club are doing fantastically. Given the squad, manager and resources available. The manager and team are under performing. To argue with that is to be living in cloud cuckoo land.

 

Its frustrating as hell because we've seen the level they're all capable of.

[Guest ttfn]

Just now, NaijaFox said:

Wouldn't be a slump if he measured from October 16...

There will always be oscillations in form, and to pick a random period skewers reality.

23 games is not an “oscillation in form” it’s a protracted downturn, it’s 60% of a season and what’s more it’s a downturn that’s part of a greater trend downwards since Rodgers made an incredible start to his time with us.

 

Since he signed his new contract at the end of 2019 (nearly 2 years ago) we’ve taken 107 points from 71 games at 1.5 ppg. Over a season that’s a 57 point season, enough for 8th, 7th and 7th in the last 3 seasons. Nobody should be surprised that we’re 10th averaging 1.4ppg, we’ve been performing to roughly this level for nearly 2 years now. 

[CosbehFox]

25 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

He's measuring a slump, I don't see the issue with it.

Does it acknowledge that within the select period we’ve played teams such as Manchester City twice ? 
 

Not a huge fan of selecting period to suit any argument. 
 

The ten games lost are Arsenal (2), Man City (2), Chelsea, Tottenham, West Ham (2), Newcastle and Brighton. Outside of the latter two, it doesn’t sound anywhere near as that dramatic. 

Edited 31 October 2021 by Cardiff_Fox

[Guest Chocolate Teapot]

7 minutes ago, ttfn said:

23 games is not an “oscillation in form” it’s a protracted downturn, it’s 60% of a season and what’s more it’s a downturn that’s part of a greater trend downwards since Rodgers made an incredible start to his time with us.

 

Since he signed his new contract at the end of 2019 (nearly 2 years ago) we’ve taken 107 points from 71 games at 1.5 ppg. Over a season that’s a 57 point season, enough for 8th, 7th and 7th in the last 3 seasons. Nobody should be surprised that we’re 10th averaging 1.4ppg, we’ve been performing to roughly this level for nearly 2 years now. 

So we've been performing roughly at our level then? Our budget is 8th so that's still outperforming largely? 

 

And in that time whilst people look into the statistics to find something that supports their doom mongering the club has had major injuries to several key first teamers and managed to win the FA cup and the charity shield and finish 5th the 2nd season running.

 

I'd hate to see people react in a genuine crisis at this football club....

Edited 31 October 2021 by Chocolate Teapot

[Ric Flair]

29 minutes ago, NaijaFox said:

Wouldn't be a slump if he measured from October 16...

There will always be oscillations in form, and to pick a random period skewers reality.

I'd agree if this slump wasn't spanning a 1/3 of last season and over a quarter of this season. Otherwise when Ranieri had us nosediving off a cliff in 16/17, if you'd measured us from Feb 16 to Feb 17 we'd have been top 6 still I'd imagine? Now that was obviously a bigger extreme and we were properly in the shit, but let's not claim this slump is only a bunch of games, it's over half a seasons worth! 

[Ric Flair]

17 minutes ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

Does it acknowledge that within the select period we’ve played teams such as Manchester City twice ? 
 

Not a huge fan of selecting period to suit any argument. 
 

The ten games lost are Arsenal (2), Man City (2), Chelsea, Tottenham, West Ham (2), Newcastle and Brighton. Outside of the latter two, it doesn’t sound anywhere near as that dramatic. 

Given our form vs those clubs for the majority of last season was phenomenal I don't think we should be cutting us much slack for 31 points from 23 games. It's crap, we all know it. We have to improve and I'm confident we will in a roundabout fashion. My predictions for this season were anywhere between 6-10th and I think that's where we're heading with a slight improvement. All about trying to take another cup as well if we can, got to keep that mentality of succeeding. We are capable but right now a world away from the resilience we've shown in the past. 

[filbertway]

10 minutes ago, Chocolate Teapot said:

So we've been performing roughly at our level then? Our budget is 8th so that's still outperforming largely? 

 

And in that time whilst people look into the statistics to find something that supports their doom mongering the club has had major injuries to several key first teamers and managed to win the FA cup and the charity shield and finish 5th the 2nd season running.

 

I'd hate to see people react in a genuine crisis at this football club....

Because as a club were operating well in the market, so our squad is better than clubs with a bigger budget. 

 

Or do you think we have the 8th best squad talent wise in the league?

 

Add in that I assume you believe Rodgers not  the 8th best manager in the league. 

 

If you do then fair play, but I'd strongly disagree with that myself. 

 

Our team is littered with so much quality that we can play poorly and still pick up points. I find it mad that people can't see whats in front of them. Although I do also find it annoying that people are only acknowledging how poor we are when we're not fluking results

 

[Guest ttfn]

31 minutes ago, Chocolate Teapot said:

So we've been performing roughly at our level then? Our budget is 8th so that's still outperforming largely? 

 

And in that time whilst people look into the statistics to find something that supports their doom mongering the club has had major injuries to several key first teamers and managed to win the FA cup and the charity shield and finish 5th the 2nd season running.

 

I'd hate to see people react in a genuine crisis at this football club....

I’m not offering an opinion, I’m just putting the facts out there. We’re performing like an upper-mid-table team which is what we’ve been for the better part of 2 years.